Raymond Parfrey, born in 1928 and a one-time composition
student of Alan Bush, is, whether composing for voices or instruments,
a miniaturist. His genre pieces with pictorial or intriguing titles make
attractive listening. Those for piano solo include Autumn Song, Background
of Brass, A Flute From Afar, A Highland Tale, Night Spot, November Sunlight,
On a Brittany Beach, Salt Caked Smokestack, Serenade in Pastels, Toy Bandstand,
Youth at the Helm, the suites Greetings and With Pedal Please,
Waltz From Manywhere, Featherweight, Breeze in the Bay and Distant
Prospect; piano duettists are catered for by Double Bill, A Dance
From the Mountains and A Long Trail. He has produced a lot
of music for wind instruments as he was told by a publisher that there
was demand for it. This includes solos with piano and suites for clarinets
and/or flutes – and also for brass, like a Caprice for trumpet
and piano and a couple of suites for the two euphonium/two tuba combination
'Tubalate' entitled Tribute to Tunesmiths and Male Voice For
Brass. His work is well in the British Light music tradition.

Two others who have also written recently for 'Tubalate'
are the Canadian-born Derek Wood, (he lives over here now), whose
pieces, like Tubafusion, show strong jazz influence (the "fusion"
in that work for 'Tubalate' is of classical and jazz elements, though
the latter dominates) and Michael Regan, born in 1947, a Guildhall
School student (his teachers were Buxton Orr and Patrick Standford, both
of whom have made important contributions to light, as well as serious
music) and a lecturer at the London College of Music. His Quartet (1999)
for euphoniums and tubas incorporates jazz and Latin American rhythms,
while several earlier works are light in style, such as the Four Shanties
for guitar solo, the Three Yugoslav Dances for two guitars and
the Five Christmas Preludes (1986) for organ. Frank Baron
was active around 1950 when he produced a number of topographical instrumental
miniatures. Bishop’s Rock was orchestrated by John Gregory; two
London-inspired titles Petticoat Lane and Rotten Row, were
published for piano solo.

We end with another, much earlier, writer of piano music.
Sydney Smith was born in Dorchester in 1839 and died in London
in 1889. He studied in Leipzig and then settled in London as a piano teacher.
His compositions were mostly salon miniatures for piano solo, which makes
them light music for me. These include several arrangements of airs from
operas and oratorios and a large number of genre pieces: Morning Dewdrops,
the gallop, Sleigh Bells, Danse Napolitaine, the 'gallop de
concert' The Fairy Queen, the 'valse brilliante' Gaîeté
de Coeur, the mazurka, Lily of the Valley, Maypole Dance,
The Spinning Wheel, The Aeolian Harp and Le Jet d’Eau, the
latter two especially popular. Occasionally one can still hear Smith,
with his mixture of superficial brilliance and agreeable tunefulness,
even these days and the experience while not "improving" is
usually acceptably entertaining.

Philip L Scowcroft

Enquiries to Philip at

8 Rowan Mount

DONCASTER

S YORKS DN2 5PJ

Philip's book 'British Light Music Composers' (ISBN 0903413 88 4) is
currently out of print.

E-mail enquiries (but NOT orders) can be directed to Rob Barnett
at rob.barnett1@btinternet.com